As you may know, on September 30, 2022, Nilda Soto, MS, Ed retired from her position as Assistant Dean in the Office of Diversity Enhancement after 32 years in that role. A Bronx native of Puerto Rican heritage, Nilda gained recognition on the institutional, local, regional, and national level for championing the recruitment, retention and promotion of historically under-represented racial and ethnic minoritized students.
In honor of her unique, long-standing contributions to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the Bronx, and thousands of advisees and mentees, we are proudly announcing of our effort to establish The Endowed* Nilda Soto Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Excellence Scholarship. This would be the first endowed DEI scholarship at Einstein.
The Endowed Nilda Soto DEI Scholarship will be granted on an annual basis to a medical or graduate student who exemplifies the spirit of DEI-related work to advance health equity, especially in historically marginalized communities.
We need your support to meet our initial goal of $50,000; if this goal is met, we will be able to unlock the matching fund of $50,000, which has been offered by an anonymous donor. With the matching, all donations will be matched dollar to dollar up to $250,000, doubling the impact of our collective fundraising effort. All donors of $7,500 (pledged as a one-time or cumulatively over five years) or more will receive an annual report of the Soto Scholars.
Envision the following matching scenarios in honor of Nilda’s legacy. Combined with matching, an endowed scholarship of:
We are seeking donations preferably by December 31, 2022.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact the Office of Development and Alumni Relations at (718) 430-4171 or min.um-mandhyan@einsteinmed.edu.
Gratefully,
The Endowed Nilda Soto Scholarship Committee
Nereida Correa MD, Class of 1985
J.P. Sánchez MD, MPH Class of 2006
Raja Flores MD, Class of 1992
Shellyann Sharpe MD Class of 2005
Elizabeth Lee-Rey MD, MPH, past Co Director Hispanic Center of Excellence
Endowed fund administration: Einstein follows the terms of the New York Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (“NYPMIFA”), which allows Einstein to expend amounts from its endowment funds even when market values decline below the endowment funds’ historic dollar values. The College would act prudently in determining the amount to so expend, taking into account several factors enumerated in NYPMIFA such as the purpose and preservation of the fund, the needs of the institution, general economic conditions, expected earnings, and the availability of other resources. No changes would be made as to how the funds are to be used.
*Einstein’s rolling earning average for the last sixteen quarters is 5.5%.
